The Conversation that had to Happen
by Zephyrim
Summary: Super spoiler alert! They're everywhere! When Arthur is King and he's beginning to unite the land of Albion, Merlin reveals his magic...and is thrown in prison. This is the conversation that is about what...six or so years in the making?


The Conversation that had to Happen

Merlin straightened up as he heard someone enter Camelot's dungeon. It was Arthur. King Arthur. While this was supposed to be a good thing—the very thing Merlin was working towards for years— he wasn't so sure now …

"Hello," he smiled at Arthur.

"I have to admit, your timing was pretty good," Arthur began, tone even but Merlin knew better. Those bars were the only things that were keeping Arthur from attempting to strangle his former manservant. "I've become King and rewrote the laws concerning magic…I can see why you were so eager to have me do that. At the time, your logic was sound. Since now it's illegal to kill you, I can only vent out my anger by locking you up. The stocks are kind of pointless to someone who can light them on fire, break them into a thousand pieces, unlock them, etcetera…what do I do with you, Merlin?" Arthur folded his arms.

"If you wanted to exile me, you only have to order it," Merlin looked up at his former Master. There was no way they could be master and manservant anymore. Not after _that._"I'll go back to Ealdor and live peacefully if it's so terrible to have me around."

"That sounds like a plan," Arthur nodded.

"But before I go," Merlin stood up; hands manacled to the wall "Would you like to know why? You know my greatest secret, Arthur, none of the other ones I have are nearly as important but I have no reason to keep anything from you now," Merlin waited for the questions, Arthur thought about what to ask first.

"When we first met…" Arthur started "You were so confident you could beat me but your punch was weak."

"Ah, if I could've used magic without getting killed by Uther, you would've been a puddle on the ground," answered Merlin.

"Uh-huh," Arthur nodded, scowling.

"Don't take it personally, you were a total prat back then, I told you so myself," Merlin evaded.

"What else did you do?"

"In our second fight with the maces, I made that shop turn against you," admitted Merlin.

"So that's why I kept tripping, you are so de…exiled," Arthur stopped himself and took a deep breath. "Did Gaius know?"

"Of course, he's the whole reason I came. My mother was concerned that I lacked direction and turned to Gaius for help. I clearly needed it; the first couple of days as your servant, I was tempted to…singe…you every time you threw something at me."

The look on Arthur's face was one of absolute death.

"I got better!" Merlin stepped back. "I'm the one who forced the magical snakes on Valiant's shield to come alive in front of you and Uther."

"No way."

"I had to turn a dog statue into a real dog just to make sure it actually worked."

"YOU DID WHAT?" Arthur demanded.

"I put it back," Merlin smirked at Arthur's stunned expression.

"Keep talking," Arthur commanded.

"After that was Nimueh's Avank, I believe. That one was tricky, the whole water plague thing…The Avank was bred through magic, earth and water so it needed to be defeated by magic, air and fire…which I did right in front you, I can't believe neither you nor Morgana noticed…" Merlin sighed when remembering Morgana. She was out there right now planning her next move.

"So when you tried to take the fall for Gwen…"

"I was the one who healed her father, yes," Merlin nodded. "I couldn't stand to see her like that," he paused for a moment.

"How did you know how to kill it?"

"Oh Gaius and I figured it out just in time," Merlin dismissed, waving his chained hand. It was still so apparent when he was hiding something.

"Come on, tell me everything," prodded Arthur. Despite everything that had happened, he was starting to respect and be grateful to Merlin, hearing about everything he had done to save Arthur, Camelot and now Guinevere was endearing the warlock to Arthur.

"I had to talk to the Great Dragon," Merlin admitted.

Arthur was contemplating killing Merlin again. So much for endearment.

"You. Talked. To. The. Great. DRAGON!" Arthur shouted the last word, causing Merlin to jump.

"It's not nearly as bad as you think! He was helpful at the time…manipulative…but helpful," Merlin sighed. Dealing with Kilgarah was trying at the best of times.

"Why would a dragon help you save Camelot only to try and destroy it once he got free?" Arthur asked.

"The Great Dragon believes in the Camelot that you will create…that you are creating now. You're going to unite the land, Arthur and it's my job to keep you alive while trying to achieve this. I think I've done a good job so far…" Merlin answered.

"You think?"

"Well, you're not dead are you?" he countered.

Arthur's expression hardened. "So that's it then, you've been protecting me for your own aims all this time so that I could theoretically unite the land. What makes you different from any other sorcerer I could mention?"

"I'm not trying to kill you," replied Merlin.

"Yet."

"Stop being such a royal prat and listen to me, already. If you're never going to again, that's fine, but for now," Merlin looked the young King right in the eyes "just this once, _listen_ to the answers to your questions. Go on," Merlin relaxed slightly.

"The treaty between Camelot and Mercia," Arthur prodded.

"Nimueh was rather put out that I destroyed her Avank and restored peace to Camelot. You weren't the one she was targeting with that goblet, I was. She knew I'd have drink from it to prove I wasn't lying. She would've succeeded if not for you, and I thank you again. It must've been difficult climbing up that cliff, Nimueh on one side, spiders below you. If I wasn't hallucinating and using magic in my sleep, you never would have made it out alive," Merlin told him and Arthur's jaw dropped.

"That was you," he walked right up to the bars of Merlin's cell.

Merlin nodded. "I couldn't have you dying for me, not when you had such an important destiny. We're connected, Arthur, in a way that even I don't understand. That dragon might but he's not saying anything. I had to help you, my own life and the fact that I was dying be damned."

"But you helping me was out of your own self interest, wasn't it?"

"You're still thinking like your father. Magic isn't evil, it's just like a sword: not evil in and of itself but in the wrong hands it could be disastrous. Similarly, in the right hands it can bring about much good in the world. _I_wanted to help you. I couldn't just let you die, especially on my behalf. Gaius says that while I was unconscious, I kept saying 'leave it, leave it' right up until you climbed out. Go ahead and ask him," Merlin fell silent again.

"What's next then?" Arthur moved on, eager to find out more, to finally solve the riddle of Merlin.

"Lancelot happened. I got attacked by a griffin and he saved me…nearly got himself killed in the process but you know that's how he is. I…and this is one of the things I'm not particularly proud of…used magic to fake his seal of nobility," Merlin stopped waiting for the King's explosive reaction to faking a legal document using sorcery.

"Why am I not surprised?" was all Arthur said.

"You're…not mad?"

"I'm passed mad. I'm FURIOUS! I might not be able to kill you for having magic anymore but-"

"But nothing, Arthur, if you had me killed for that now, for something I did years ago, you'd have to discharge Lancelot too and we both know you wouldn't do that…despite everything. If I hadn't gotten Lancelot in, you would've died when the griffon attacked Camelot. Lancelot and I both came out to help you and the knights, he jousted and I fortified his lance with magic so that it would be able to pierce the griffon's hide. I had to run like hell afterwards before you woke up," Merlin coughed into his hand.

"Did Lancelot know all this time?" Arthur wondered.

"Lancelot is a good man, a noble knight and a dear friend. He kept my secret safe so that I might live, Arthur. Don't begrudge him for that," advised Merlin.

"Fine; I can only be surprised so much in one day," Arthur sighed and looked behind him. "Guard! Bring me a chair."

The soldier guarding the dungeon brought in a wooden chair and Arthur sat down. "Then what did you have to save me from?"

"Edwin. His grudge was more against Uther and Gaius but he still put Morgana in danger. He had a bunch of magical beetles with him. Quite gross. Gaius was no fool; he only gave the pretense of leaving…I suppose you know that part…but it was I who saved Uther, not him," Merlin paused again. Arthur only blinked in response.

"You didn't take the credit?"

"I wouldn't have lived very long if I had, now would I?" Merlin sat down on the floor, tired of standing.

"This is very depressing how much I don't know about you," Arthur stated.

"Do you want me to stop?"

Arthur thought for a moment. "Not yet."

Merlin nodded. "Let's see next was…that's not important….there's that whole incident with the black knight-"

"Don't skip things," ordered Arthur

"Fine, you asked for it; Sophia and Aulfric Tirmawr were in fact exiled Sidhe and they needed your soul in order to return to Avalon. Sophia had you under a love enchantment from the moment you kissed her hand, moving on…" Merlin noted Arthur's brief look of shock.

"You didn't hit me over the head, did you?"

"No, you were drowning and I had to cart you back to Camelot after blasting both of them into bite sized pieces, can we move on now? This next one is important. If you're going to exile me, you have to know this," Merlin straightened up.

"The Black Knight was already dead which is why no knight could kill him," Merlin began.

"My father slew him easily enough," interjected Arthur.

"Using a sword I had had created for _you_, Arthur. I knew you were going to face a wraith…so I once again went to the Great Dragon and had him burnish a sword with his flame. It was supposed to be you who used it but Gaius and your father had other ideas," Merlin watched Arthur scowl at the memory of not being able to fulfill the challenge even now.

"How did you not get in trouble for that?"

"Uther wasn't really concerned about a sword that was finer than all others he'd wielded. The fact that it was magical didn't even cross his mind; after all, magic was only supposed to bring about evil—like the wraith—not good," Merlin rubbed the edges of his wrists that weren't chained.

"What happened to the sword?" Arthur wondered.

"A sword burnished by dragon fire in the hands of Uther would've been terrible. I stole the sword back and threw it into the same lake I had seen the Sidhe come from. It's not there any more; if you'll permit me to jump ahead a few years, when Morgana and Morgause seized Camelot, I had to go get it back in order to kill her soldiers and destroy the cup. I used magic to fatally injure Morgause," Merlin told him.

"That's why you and Lancelot weren't at the bell like you were supposed to be!" Arthur realized.

"It worked out okay," Merlin dismissed.

"Why does the dragon keep helping you?"

"He really has no choice; when I call her answers," Merlin said simply.

"No way," Arthur stood up; looking down at the chained up, servant before him "You're…"

"A Dragon Lord, yes," Merlin stood up, face to face with Camelot's King.

"So that's why he stopped attacking even though we failed to bring the Last Dragon Lord back," Arthur frowned.

"Ballinor was my father. After the Purge, he settled in Ealdor, but Uther pursued him and he fled to where we found him. Consider this, Arthur: your father destroyed my parents' happiness; he caused my mother to have to raise me alone and without help and I never knew him until right before he died. In spite of all that, I chose to stay here…to protect you," Merlin pointed right at Arthur. "Please don't continue to doubt me."

Arthur nodded and looked away from the Dragon Lord in his dungeon. He took a deep breath and looked up again at Merlin's face "How much did you know about Morgana?"

Merlin shuddered and considered his words. "Gaius told me that Morgana's nightmares were because she was a seer. This was when Sophia came to Camelot. We didn't know she had magic, we didn't know the harm she would one day cause. We tried to convince her it was nothing—to protect her from Uther. When the glass in her window shattered, it was because she shattered it. She was the one who lit the candle even though Gwen kept putting it out. I...felt I had to protect her. Gaius wanted to keep her in the dark but the fear was consuming her. I sent her to the Druids and I brought her back all the while preserving her secret. I was such a fool. Such a naïve fool. After that, she met Morgause again. Morgana put the castle to sleep and the only way to stop her…" Merlin shook his head and turned around, trying to hide his expression.

"What…what did you do?"

"Hemlock…I tricked her into drinking it. In exchange for Morgause undoing the enchantment, I gave her the poison so that Morgause could heal her. And then a year passed with Morgana learning magic from Morgause. Morgana was the traitor in our midst, this you know," Merlin stopped. "I hated every second leading up to me handing her that flask. I wanted her to be like me; I wanted someone who could understand how I felt. Not like this. She's the darkness to my light, the hatred to my love."

"You write poetry now?"

"Those are the Dragon's words not mine," Merlin corrected him, downcast. Talking about Morgana wasn't easy for him.

"One last question: when I was going to repair the sundered veil on the Isle of the Blessed…"

"I knocked you out so that I could take your place…and Lancelot beat me to it. I never intended that to happen; it should've been me," Merlin's voice broke, that memory was one of the most painful for him.

"But he came back…somehow," Arthur grimaced.

"Even I don't know that one," Merlin admitted.

Arthur took out a ring of keys and unlocked the cell door, stepping inside. He released Merlin's restraints and stood to the side. "Even after all this, I still can't bring myself to trust you," he said.

"Fair enough, it's your choice," Merlin walked passed him and Arthur followed him up through the town towards the city gates.

"My Lord, please wait!" it was Gaius, running up to them. Merlin shook his head and Gaius stopped. Merlin walked up to him and hugged his mentor.

"Don't worry about me. Come visit my mother some time, okay?" he whispered.

Gaius nodded.

Merlin stood back and continued onto the gates. The sound of a half dozen or so horses approached them and Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival, Leon, Elyan and Queen Guinevere rode up alongside Merlin and Arthur with two extra horses, one laden with supplies.

"You're leaving aren't you?" Lancelot inquired.

Merlin nodded "I had it coming."

"What is this then?" Arthur asked.

"_We_ are actually grateful for all Merlin's done for us. I'll never forget the chance he gave me so long ago," Lancelot snapped.

"Come send him off at the border at least," Gwaine tried to be the reasonable one for once.

Arthur nodded and mounted the horse without the supplies. Merlin smiled up the knights and climbed up on his horse. Gaius reached up and handed Merlin an empty cloth bag.

"Gaius?" Arthur prodded, curious.

"He'll need it before the end, I think," Gaius stepped back from the horses, probably biting off the tears.

The eight rode out of Camelot and into the forest, coming to a clearing not far from the castle. Merlin stopped and dismounted, causing the others to turn back and follow suit. He unloaded the saddle bags on the horse into the empty bag Gaius had given him.

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked him.

"Nothing's wrong, Gwen," he replied, smiling at her.

"Are you going to stay then?" Lancelot asked hopeful.

"No, it's Arthur's choice. I've been dishonest with him for so many years. I don't blame him for this," Merlin walked away from the horses and into the empty space. "Ddraig, glywed fy galw ac yn dod i fy helpu i!" he yelled and waited. For a moment there was nothing and then two dragons, one significantly larger than the other appeared over the forest.

"I did not see that coming," Gwaine remarked as Merlin stood before the two dragons.

"So young warlock," boomed the Great Dragon "there must be a reason Arthur now stands before me."

"I've lost his trust by revealing my secret," Merlin told him.

"Hm...perhaps he'll get over it," suggested the Dragon.

"I doubt it," Merlin shrugged.

"I'm standing right here," Arthur muttered.

"I heard that," the Dragon regarded King Arthur. "He still has so much growing to do, it seems. Your task is not yet finished, Merlin."

"I can't stay if he doesn't trust me; I won't defy him," Merlin replied.

"Then I take it you wish to leave?"

"Yes, I do," Merlin answered.

"Very well," the Great Dragon lowered his head and Merlin climbed up.

"Arthur," Merlin called down to his friend "the sorcerer who tried to make it seem like Gwen was enchanting you...it was Morgana. She wanted Gwen out of the way. I stepped in and took the blame."

Arthur's and Gwen's jaws dropped just as the dragons spread their wings and flew away. Merlin heard Arthur call up to him and it took all his strength not to look back.

"He's made his choice," Merlin muttered to himself. He couldn't stop the tears despite that fact.

"He'll search for you, I'm sure," Kilgarah comforted.

"I wish he would," Merlin stated.

"What will you do now, young warlock?"

"I don't know...home first, I think...unless you have a better idea," Merlin tried to catch the Dragon's eye.

"You've earned a return to your nest, and Arthur knows that you will be there," the Dragon angled his flight and began his descent.

"You will find Ealdor in two days if you head north from here," the Dragon pointed and the two departed, the younger giving Merlin an affectionate nudge on the head.

"Good to see you too," he told the Dragon. He had never heard the young dragon speak so he wasn't sure of its gender or name.

Two weeks later, Merlin was readjusting to life in Ealdor, working in a field with his magic. Ealdor had been in Cenred's kingdom but was now apart of Outer Camelot. It didn't really matter, it was still overlooked by Camelot as it had been with Cenred. The people of Ealdor accepted Merlin easily enough...especially when a bunch of raiders had come through trying to rob the place. Merlin really enjoyed showing them how he could take their swords from them and chase them out of town without raising a finger.

Merlin's mother, Hunith, looked better having him around too. Thanks to Merlin, the harvest was looking to be quite plentiful.

"Merlin!" his mother called.

Merlin turned and saw a flash of a very familiar red cloak. He smiled and left the field, putting on a clean shirt before entering the house.

"Hello," he said to the blonde man in front of him.

"I talked to Gaius...he gave me every story about how you've saved Camelot that he could think of. Every single one," Arthur stared up at Merlin with sad eyes. "The number of times you were ready to die for me...I can't say anything against that kind of loyalty," Arthur stood up and faces Merlin squarely.

"Merlin, Morgana is surely planning Camelot's downfall as we speak. After hearing about how many times I've been saved by you, I'm not sure if I can survive her next scheme. Will you stand with me to protect Camelot as her Court Sorcerer?" he asked and Merlin's heart did a back flip. This was what he'd been waiting for for years: for his talents to be recognized. Hunith smiled at Merlin and nodded once.

"Of course," he replied.

"Then pack your belongings, we're needed back home," Arthur ordered.

"Yes, sire."

"Don't get all formal now that I'm King," Arthur countered.

"But I can't call you prat anymore," Merlin lamented. "It just doesn't suit you."

"Glad to hear it now lets go home." Arthur left the house. Merlin packed up the bag Gaius had given him and like he had so many years ago, packed to go to Camelot.


End file.
